Cape Playhouse Opens Season With THE IMPORTANCE OF BEING EARNEST Starring Edward Hibbert

The Cape Playhouse at the Cape Cod Center for The Arts, under the leadership of Producing Artistic Director Michael Rader and Executive Producer Joe Grandy, announces the opening of the 2019 summer season with The Importance of Being Earnest written by Oscar Wilde and directed by Matt Lenz, from June 12 through June 22.

Oscar Wilde's masterpiece comedy sparkles with dazzling wordplay and hilariously unlikely situations. This "trivial comedy for serious people" features two carefree bachelors, Jack and Algernon, each with a carefully hidden double life. But when Algernon discovers that Jack has been posing as a man named Ernest to escape to the city, he promptly travels to Jack's country estate to pose as the fictional figure himself! Silliness ensues with whimsical ingénues, jealous fiancées, indomitable dowagers, and the most famous handbag in theatre history.

Headlining the cast is Edward Hibbert, known for eleven seasons as Gil Chesterton on NBC's "Frasier", playing Lady Bracknell. He will be joined by Sandra Shipley, cast member of the most recent Broadway Revival production, as Miss Prism, Dan Amboyer from the hit TV show "Younger" as Jack, Broadway veteran Jason Gotay as Algernon, Mahira Kakkar from Orange is the New Black as Gwendolen, Olivia Hebert as Cecily and John Thomas Waite as the Rev. Charles Chasuble.

Rounding out the cast are Jesse Sharp as Lane and Victor Warren as Merriman.

Director Matt Lenz recently directed the hit Off-Broadway revival of Pageant: The Musical, which received a Drama Desk nomination for Best Revival of a Musical, the new comedy The Irish Curse at Soho Rep, and Idaho! for New York Musical Theatre Festival. Matt was the Associate Director to Tony Award-winner Jack O'Brien on the original production of Hairspray on Broadway as well as on the National Tours, Las Vegas, the UK, Toronto and in Cologne, Germany. He regularly teaches master classes and workshops in NYC and around the country at universities and for performing arts organizations. He received the 2010 Kevin Kline Award for Best Director and is a teaching artist for the Broadway Dreams Foundation.

The limited engagement will have a Cape Playhouse exclusive scenic design built on-site by Rob Odorisio, costume design by Sky Switser, lighting design by Jaron Hermansen, sound design by Joe Palermo and wig design by Tommy Kurzman. The production stage manager is James Hansen and casting is by Geoff Josselson Casting.

The production is sponsored by Breakaway Oil with the generous support of Arts Foundation Cape Cod, Mass Cultural Council, and the Cape Cod Foundation.

Season subscriptions and individual tickets are now on sale at CapePlayhouse.com, by phone at 508-385-3911, or by visiting the Box Office at The Cape Playhouse.

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